New Zealand has invested in soil research since the 1890s to sustain farming. Photo / 123rf
New Zealand has invested in soil research since the 1890s to sustain farming. Photo / 123rf
THE FACTS
Soil research and investment in New Zealand dates back to 1892.
The Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre, established in 1983, still meets today as the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre.
New Zealand agriculture does not rely on subsidies.
To cleaners, it is dirt; to farmers and growers, it is soil.
The mixture of sand, silt, clay and organic matter in different proportions underfoot, in combination with the weather, can make or break a food-and-fibre-production business.
Soil has been described as more valuable than oil; people cannotsurvive without food.
Although soilless production systems have been around for centuries, and the potential of hydroponics and vertical farming to provide food has been proclaimed, they do require soil as a foundation for the facilities, and the nutrients fed through irrigation (hydroponics) mostly come from the ground.
Over the decades, considerable funds have been invested by government, industry and farmers to understand more about the soil that feeds us and clothes us, provides us with shelter and beauty, and is the very foundation upon which we stand and grow.
In New Zealand, the research on how to manage soil started as soon as settlement occurred.
Formalising the research, the Department of Agriculture was created in 1892 with the directive to establish experimental farms and engage in what is now termed technology transfer.
The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research followed in 1926, ensuring research was done from laboratory benches through glasshouses to field plots.
What had become the Ministry for Agriculture (evolving from the Department of Agriculture) took results to the field for trial in the regions.
Ministry extension officers then extended the regionally modified results up the farm drive for adoption.
In 1936, “soils” became a division on its own, as did “plants”.
Always the goal for the scientists, researchers and extension officers was to sort out the problems and think of the future.
In the mid-1980s, the role of subsidies in New Zealand farming was being questioned.
It is still the case that if farmers align their systems to what the Government is directing rather than what the market wants, they become dependent on income not derived from food production – as has happened in Europe.
Was that an affordable future for New Zealand? Politicians thought not.
Having been through an era of a post-war production drive, where application of fertiliser was encouraged through government payments, New Zealand soil scientists were thinking ahead to what might be about to happen if fertiliser became more expensive and market forces determined production.
Professor Keith Syers, head of Massey University’s Soil Science Department, convened an invitation-only workshop.
Academics, ministry scientists and fertiliser industry leaders were at the table.
Lincoln University Adjunct Professor Dr Jacqueline Rowarth has a PhD in soil science (nutrient cycling) and was present at the first meetings of the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre.
In 1983, the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre was established “to provide practical solutions to problems and issues in the primary production sectors of New Zealand” and an (almost) annual February gathering became the start to the research year.
By 1987, agricultural subsidies were gone and the focus of research was helping farmers to survive.
The discussion widened, but the focus remained.
The research centre’s website bears the record of topics and an ever-increasing list of contributors.
In the 1990s, the Minister for Science stated that New Zealand had done so much research on soils (and white cover) that it was surely time to move on to (and invest in) something else.
It was then that the environmental research included the word “sustainability”.
Understanding how both production and protection could be achieved was paramount, including the role of byproducts and organic waste.
Organic matter transformations were studied and the workshop numbers swelled.
In 2019, it was renamed the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre.
The name change recognised that far more perspectives were being involved in the soils discussion than originally the case; policy and regulatory bodies concerned with primary production were at the table.
At the February conference this year, only two of the original attendees at the first workshop (time and age being what they are) were present.
They observed that over the years of their attendance, the passion for research to push back the frontiers of understanding had been maintained (although the sparky debate of the past was less apparent).
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Dr Jacqueline Rowarth on The Country below:
Looking back to the beginnings of the workshops, it is clear that although the people have (mostly) changed, the purpose has not.
The words have changed (in some cases), but not the focus.
At the forefront of thinking is ensuring that New Zealand farmers and industry professionals are working together to create an ever-better future for New Zealanders, whether they view the soil as their workplace or their playground.
Science advances through robust debate, ensuring that different perspectives are considered, and progress is made.
New Zealand agriculture is respected by farmers around the world because of its production and protection, without subsidies.
The large investment in research and extension has made the difference, and in the spirit of nobody resting on any laurels ... there is still much to be done.
– Dr Jacqueline Rowarth, Adjunct Professor, Lincoln University, has a PhD in soil science (nutrient cycling) and was present at the first meetings of the Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre. She is a farmer-elected director of DairyNZ and Ravensdown and a member of the Scientific Council of the World Farmers’ Organisation.
